


Lake House

by Jellalipop



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, But its a Jerza wedding, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lake-town, Natsu and Gray own a restaurant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Death, Past Injuries, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, Wedding Planning, Weddings, dragneel brothers, pining Lucy, pining Natsu, writer lucy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-01-22 15:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21304241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellalipop/pseuds/Jellalipop
Summary: After finally finishing college and graduate school, Lucy decides to stay at her parent's old summer lake house so she can write easily to her heart's content. After meeting up with some of her old friends, she is introduced to someone entirely new by the name of Natsu. Although he seems annoying at first, they soon build a very close bond... A bond that, unbeknownst to Lucy, scares Natsu. Knowing that he could be falling in love, he struggles to figure out how to deal with someone like this amongst all the other hardships going on in his life.IMPORTANT:The first 6 chapters were written awhile ago, so once the 7th chapter is posted, you'll see a big change in my writing style.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Zeref Dragneel/Mavis Vermillion
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	1. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> The setting in this story is inspired by the lake town in the Ghibli movie, "When Marnie was there."  
However this story isn't the storyline from that movie haha.  
Anyway thank you so much for reading and I hope you all will enjoy this book!
> 
> IMPORTANT:  
The first 6 chapters were written awhile ago, so once the 7th chapter is posted, you'll see a big change in my writing style.

Lucy smiled to herself as she looked up at the lake house her parents had owned, feeling nostalgic from all her childhood memories of the place. After all these years, it hadn't changed a bit. Although big on the outside, it was actually a bit more tightly packed on the inside... Which, to Lucy, was fine, as she would now be the only one living there... Or at least she hoped. She wouldn't be surprised if a few squatters were lounging about the living area the moment she stepped inside those doors.

Clumsily, Lucy took out her keys and opened the front door, keeping it open with her foot as she somehow managed to move all her bags inside.

"I'm home!" She announced to herself, contently closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She welcomed the familiar scent of honey and herbs in the entryway, fond memories flooding into her head all at once.

"Welcome back." A voice said behind her suddenly.

Lucy flinched and quickly spun around--ready to whack who ever it was with her carry on--but caught herself once she got a good look at their face.

"Jellal..." She sighed and put her bag back down on the floor, placing her palm over her forehead. "Don't scare me like that."

He gave a smile and hesitantly relaxed his tense features. "It's nice to see you too."

Lucy chuckled lightly, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I missed you and Erza so much... I'm glad you two decided to live here as well." She grinned into his shoulder as he squeezed her back. "I don't think anyone remembers me... I changed a lot from when I was a child."

"There's gotta be someone... I mean... Old man Makarov is still alive and kicking. He somehow recognized me and Erza after not seeing us for years." Jellal patted Lucy's back before parting from the hug and stepping to the side so that his fiancé, Erza, could step in as well and give the blonde a bone crushing hug.

Erza broke apart slightly, raising her hands to squish Lucy's cheeks together like a fish. "Why did you leave me, Heartfilia?" She asked fiercely.

The writer laughed nervously and avert her eyes towards Jellal, who looked amused. "Ha... Haha... Help me."

Fortunately, he was able to pry his soon-to-be wife off of her, with a struggle. "I do hope you're going to tell us your story..."

"When I'm done unpacking maybe." Lucy winked and turned to her bags. "Good thing I don't have too much stuff... This place was already fully furnished."

"Dusty though..." Erza said as she ran her finger across a cabinet, showing the filth to us. "I can handle this... Hold on." She said, walking out onto the porch to call someone on the phone.

Lucy looked at Jellal questionably. He only gave a small shrug in response.

"So... Mind helping me bring these upstairs?" Lucy asked, grabbing two bags and walking to the foot of the stairs.

Jellal nodded and picked up the remaining bags, following her to her old room, and copying her actions as she dropped them onto the bed. Doing so caused a big puff of dust to fly into their faces.

Jellal let out a couple kitten-like sneezes whilst swatting at the air before managing a "I'm gonna see what Erza is up to..."

"You do that..." Lucy said with a strange voice as she pinched her nose shut. "And bless you."

Jellal let out another sneeze before ducking out of the room, slightly embarrassed.

Laughing lightly to herself, Lucy started to look around the room with that same nostalgic feeling in her gut from earlier. The room was exactly the same as when she left it all those years ago. However, she could do with a few different decorations.

With a joyful sigh, the blonde stepped over to the balcony and... with a little effort... managed to open up the sliding door, where she was immediately rewarded with a beautiful view of the lake. 

Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Lucy closed her eyes. Enjoying the breeze that lifted her hair off of her neck, and giggling as her bangs tickled her forehead.

However, she was suddenly snapped out of her relaxed state when she heard a couple car doors close down below in front of the house. Hesitantly, Lucy peeked down over the balcony fence to see a small van was parked in front of the house.

Erza, who Lucy could quickly make out from the red hair, walked over quickly with Jellal at her heels to greet whoever it was. Lucy assumed that she probably had invited them on her phone earlier.

Curiously, Lucy bent over a little further for a better look, making sure she didn't lose her footing.

"Hey guys." A male voice said. Lucy looked towards the source to see a man with Raven hair. She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked observantly over his facial features, before a smile appeared on her face. "Gray!"

He looked up on cue and took a moment before smiling and waving his hand. "Hey Lucy! Get down here! It's been awhile since I've seen my lil' sis!"

Lucy gave him a look before hurrying back into the house. They weren't blood related or anything... But every time she would come here as a child for vacation, his family would usually be on one as well. And because of so, it felt like he was family... in a certain sense.

Before she could head outside, however, Lucy bumped into someone new. Taking a moment to calm her heart from the little jump scare, she looked up to see a face she knew for sure she had never seen before. "Who—?"

"He's helping Juvia clean." A preppy voice giggled as she pushed the pink haired mystery man out of the way. "It's been awhile, Lucy."

"Juvia!" Lucy beamed, taking in her new appearance before bringing her into a tight hug. "Oh gosh. You've gotten even prettier I'm jealous." She laughed and broke away to look at her new hair. Instead of the bouncy tight curls she wore as a child, her hair was long and wavy, resembling the waves of the ocean. Lucy had always believed that Juvia was born to live near the water.

Juvia shrugged modestly but Lucy knew deep down she was proud of herself.

"Oh before we make him uncomfortable... Juvia will introduce you to the man you just ran into." She said quickly, waving her hands in front of her face before pulling on the boy's sleeve so that he stood beside her. "This is Natsu. He and Gray-sama are friends."

"Not really." He said with a grumble.

"They fight a lot. Physically. Gray-sama takes off his clothes." Juvia said with a face that just screamed awe and excitement.

"Of course he does. He always did." Lucy sighed before turning to Natsu and holding out her hand. "Anyway...Natsu," She said slowly, testing out the name on her tongue, "Thanks for the help. I'm Lucy by the way."

Natsu soon gave a grin that nearly made her heart leap up and out of her throat. She didn't expect him to have a smile that-- Is there even a word that could describe how beautiful it was? "Nice to meet ya, Luigi."

Lucy's heart dived right back into its rightful place, whatever feelings she might have been mustering up vanishing into thin air. "It's Lucy, actually."

"Looney?"

"Lucy."

"Loopy?"

"LU—"

"—Did you get lost on your way to the front door?" A voice Lucy recognized as Gray's spoke up, making relief build up inside her. "Oh... I see. You met the idiot. I can tell by the look on your face."

Natsu chuckled and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I like to leave amazing first impressions."

Lucy sighed and turned to look at Gray. "I can see why you fight him."

"It's hot." Juvia hissed into Lucy's ear before skipping into her room to begin her dusting.

Lucy gave her a look before walking over to Gray and bringing him into one of her many hugs of the day. "Thank you for helping out. I didn't know if you still lived here."

"Yeah. I stayed here after high school... Unfortunately I didn't have the money to go to college. Which is fine because then I wouldn't have started my business." Gray smirked, winking over at Natsu. "We both opened a restaurant believe it or not. Out by the water."

Lucy's eyes widened before she punched his shoulder playfully, which might've been a little too hard based on his reaction. "No way. I think we should all go out to eat together."

"That was my plan anyway." He chuckled, patting my head. "It was Natsu's idea actually. I couldn't think of a good way to get us all back together and then he just gave the obvious answer. It's the smartest he's ever been."

"Watch it snow fairy." The pinkette hissed with a small, embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

"I think he only offered because he wanted an excuse to eat the food." Gray snorted. "The food there has been off limits for him since he's a big pig."

Natsu huffed and stomped into the bedroom to help Juvia clean. "Whatever..." He said with a pout.

Lucy giggled towards him before looking back at Gray. "Thank you. It means a lot, really."

He nodded and ruffled up her hair a bit before stepping over to the bathroom. "I better get cleaning, Erza rallied us up for this, and I gotta do it unless I want my ass kicked."

"Have fun. I'll get you all some beverages and then I'll help you out."

"You're a blessing." He chuckles before disappearing into the room.

Lucy smiled and walked back downstairs to see Jellal and Erza sweeping away, chatting to one another with vibrant smiles before noticing Lucy walking towards them.

"So you met Natsu, huh?" Erza smiled, leaning on the end of her broom as she raised an eyebrow at her old friend. "Is he your type?"

"Oh please." Lucy laughed and took some glasses out of the cabinets, washing them all before she could put anything in them. "I'm sure he's a very nice guy but I'm not interested. He called me anything but my name just now as some kind of joke. I mean... who even does that to someone they just met?"

Erza just gave her an amused smile before getting back to sweeping. "He shows friendship in a strange way."


	2. Lakeside Restaurant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and get all these prewritten chapters out as soon as possible so I can start writing this book fully again :)  
I just edit these a tad bit since they are all originally in first person POV and I don't write that way much anymore haha  
But anyway, thank you for reading! Stay tuned!

"Wow you two..." Lucy said in awe as she looked up at Gray and Natsu's lakeside restaurant. "This place really is amazing."

Gray nodded, seeming to sparkle from his internalized pride. "Yes. It really reflects off of one of its owners doesn't it."

"You flatter me." Natsu smirked teasingly, only to be rewarded with a glare from Gray. "You were talking about me, yes? I'm amazing."

"Not really."

Lucy giggled towards the two before looking back at the building. 

Earlier, all six of the group (Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Erza, and Jellal) had finished cleaning up Lucy’s house and unpacking all her things. Or at least all the girls did. Lucy wasn't so enthusiastic about letting all the guys see through all her clothing. Especially in the undergarment section. 

"I'll go get our table ready." Gray said as he opened the main door. "Natsu? Can you make yourself useful and show Lucy--and the others if they want to--the view from the porch. The sun is going down soon so it'll be perfect." He said, showing off a little chef’s kiss with his fingers.

Lucy grinned at the thought and gave Natsu an eager nod. "Yes! Let's go!"

Natsu blinked down at her for a second before snickering and turning towards the door. "Follow the leader,” He spoke, placing his hand over his chest proudly.

Gray chuckled and left them to help clear off their reserved table. Juvia followed him with hearts in her eyes, leaving behind Lucy, Natsu, Erza, and Jellal in favor of stalking her love. 

"Here we are." Natsu said, smiling slightly as he led them through the restaurant and out onto the porch where Lucy was immediately introduced to a beautiful sunset over the water. "We really lucked out with this spot. I’m not one to fawn over pretty views or anything but I guess this ain’t too bad, huh?"

Lucy watched as Jellal and Erza stood by the railing, the redhead leaning her head against her fiancé's shoulder. Smiling at them for a second, the blonde decided to take a few steps away from them and lean against the railing by herself, admiring the view. 

"So... Lucy..." Natsu said as he joined right next to her. "I'm going to take this as my first opportunity to get to know you."

She laughed and looked away from the water too see his face. "Yeah. This is probably going to be one of our only chances considering the friends we chose," she hummed, “they were always a wild bunch.”

He laughed in response before sticking out his hand for her. "Let's start over. I realized I came off pretty bad in the beginning. Not many people understand my humor when they first meet me. Erza says that’s why suck at making lasting relationships… or whatever." Natsu paused for a moment before continuing. “Even though she is just as bad, maybe even worse than I am.”

Lucy smiled and took his hand in hers, shaking it professionally. "Well, nice to meet you. My name is Lucy Heartfilia. Thank you for your help with cleaning my house."

"Nice to meet you as well. My name is Natsu... Natsu Dragneel. And it was my pleasure, I got to meet someone who seems to be pretty awesome so far." He smiled, both taking a moment before letting go of each others hand. "So... Why'd you decide to move back here?" 

"Ah well... It was a choice between keeping our main property or this one. This place was smaller and there has been far more fond memories here then my old home." Lucy shrugged shrugged, looking back at the sunset that was starting to disappear. "And this place is calming enough for me to focus enough on my writing."

Natsu nodded. Lucy was honestly very happy that he didn't say anything more on the topic of her parents or her old home. Something in his eyes told her that he might have known the feeling.

"Well I'm glad you came here... And I'm sure everyone here feels the same." He grinned, patting her shoulder. "I can already tell we're going to be great friends."

Lucy chuckled and went to say something witty in response, however Gray cut her off before she could.

"Our table is ready!" He announced, Juvia nodding in confirmation from his side. "Follow me."

\---

Lucy sat down with a fond smile gracing her lips. Gray had managed to get them a seat near the large window that showed off the water. And since it was now night time, Lucy could see the stars reflect off the lake. 

"I'm going to sit next to you." Erza sad as she sat to Lucy’s right on the circular table. "Because I want to try your food. And I love you."

Lucy snorted and watch as she sat beside her. "I'm sure you do."

Jellal took a seat on her other side, taking a sip of the water that was already on the table. "She stole most of my food on our first date."

Lucy laughed and watched as Erza playfully hit his arm. It was clear to the blonde that he was pretending it didn't hurt.

To Jellal's right sat Gray, and then Juvia, who sat next to him faster than a blue hedgehog, and then finally Natsu who was forced to sit next to Lucy. Which made sense as everyone else seemed to be sorted in couples, leaving the singles to be kept in their own little section. 

"Hey." Natsu greets as he pushed himself closer to the table. "I'm going to warn you right now that I'm crazy about food. So if something happens to fly onto you I deeply apologize."

Lucy shook her head and leaned over to whisper into his ear. "I'm used to food flying on me. Never cook anything with Juvia. She's actually really messy."

"Noted." He winked before lifting up his menu, showing off a smirk. 

Lucy looked back at him with amusement before looking at her own menu. 

\---

Lucy watched as Erza and Natsu both picked off of her leftovers that she knew she couldn't bring herself to eat, even though it was so delicious. 

"Thank you for inviting me here, Gray... Natsu." Lucy said, shoving her dish towards the pinkette next to her as Erza switched over to Jellal's food. 

"No problem." Gray said, smiling as he leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach. "Anything for my lil sis."

Natsu stopped eating for a second to give Lucy that same breathtaking smile that he showed off when they were introduced by Juvia in her house. "Yeah. Now I'm not the odd one out in the group. There's the soon to be married couple right there. And then Gray and Juvia. You need to stay my friend for as long as possible."

Gray nearly choked on his beverage. "Juvia and I aren't a couple."

"Please, Gray. You're clueless. And you call me the stupid one." Natsu snorts with a mouthful of food as he took another bite of Lucy’s meal. 

Lucy smiled as she watched Juvia turn red, sighing happily as she clung onto Gray's arm, which he seemed a little conflicted about. 

Gray opened his mouth to argue with Natsu, though he shut up once he noticed the look Erza was giving them both. 

Lucy giggled before taking a deep breath and leaning back in her chair. ‘Things are going better than I could imagine... Mom... Dad…’ She thought to herself as she watched her friends converse to one another, though her gaze locked onto Natsu. 

For a second he didn't catch her looking at him, studying him carefully. Somehow he was pretty hard to read, given everything about him seemed light spirited and goofy... However, Lucy thought back to the moment when they stood together out on the porch. There was something sad hidden in his sharp eyes. 

Suddenly his attention turned to the blonde, making her flush from embarrassment. With a hum, he just held his phone out to her with a smile on his face, "Want to exchange numbers?"

Lucy blinked a couple times before digging her phone out of her bag and placing it in his hand. "Of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading chapter 2!  
Look forward to another chapter soon!  
I'm working on a NaLu animatic at the moment, on top of college assignments so I don't know how fast my updates with truly be.
> 
> Leave a Kudos and a comment!  
follow my art account on instagram: @Jellalipopp  
my klance writing account: @Lances.wormhole  
Tumblr: Lances-wormhole


	3. The Way I Am

Jellal and Erza's wedding was coming up in a couple months and for some reason Natsu seemed to be more nervous than the bride and groom themselves. 

Not for a bad reason on their part, but for himself. Every single time he was in such a big group like what their wedding is going to be like... He would get oddly paranoid. He didn’t really know why he got that way himself. In fact, he knew for sure he wasn’t a very introverted person at all. And he definitely didn’t mind crowds… or at least he didn’t use it.

Erza, however, thinks it's because he doesn't know how to act around many people at once. Because apparently he can be  _ rude _ under pressure and he gets, quote, "very aggressive at the smallest things."

When Natsu was younger, he overheard his dad talking on the phone to his mother, whom was working on the other side of the continent, saying that he started to distance myself from many of his friends at his young age. His father continued his conversation with long words Natsu didn't know back then, and honestly doesn’t really know now. He just remembered they didn't sound like something he wanted to be described as. 

With a sigh, Natsu combed his bangs back with his fingers and waved goodbye to Gray as he left the restaurant. It had been two days since they had their celebration, and unfortunately, Natsu hasn’t seen Lucy since then. 

Until now of course, because there she was, sitting on the hill that connected the gravel road to the water. A smile was etched onto her face as she happily scribbled into a little notebook that sat on her slightly uplifted knee. 

Natsu stopped walking on the sidewalk, wondering if he should bother saying hello. She does seem really into her writing after all… perhaps he shouldn't. But he could always say it quickly as he’s walking by, right? That would still interrupt her. 

"Make up your mind dumbass." Natsu mumbled to himself. Unfortunately, it took him a couple seconds to realize she was looking at him. 

"Hey Natsu! Did you say something?" She called, motioning for him to come over. 

Natsu blinked a couple times before quickly shaking his head. "N-No. Just me... Talking to myself." He said as he sat down beside her. "Hi."

She smiled and capped her pen, laying it and the notebook down beside her. 

"What're you doing out here? It gets kinda buggy once it gets dark." Natsu said, trying to start a conversation. 

"I used to sit on this hill all the time as a kid and I would read for hours. I just wanted to see if it felt the same." Lucy said with a fond tone as she watched the water lap up against the rocky shore.

"Felt the same?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, not getting what she meant. "Hm... Well... The dirt is really hard and it's not really comfortable to sit on. Actually my butt is starting to hurt."

Lucy looked up at him with turned up eyebrows, though fortunately she was still smiling. 

"A-Ah sorry... I tend to just say what I'm feeling." Natsu stuttered, looking away from her. 

"That's fine. I like your honesty. My butt was starting to hurt as well. Next time I'll bring a cushion." She said with a small giggle, standing up and holding her notebook close to her chest.

Natsu glanced up at her for a couple seconds before pushing himself up and off of the ground. "I'll keep a cushion at work if I ever see you alone."

Lucy nodded and held onto her book tighter. "I'd like that."

Heat rose to his cheeks as they both looked at each other for a minute. "W-Well... I'll see you whenever, Lucy."

She simply nodded again, looking back towards the water. "Yeah..." 

Natsu bit his lip, fighting the urge to invite her to his house. "Or um... I can walk you home?"

\---

Natsu gave a smile to himself as he unlocked his front door, stepping inside with a blush still on his cheeks. 

"I'm home!" He called out, taking his shoes off and throwing them in the mud room without really looking at where they landed. 

"You're later than usual!" 

Natsu looked up to see his roommate, and brother, with an apron wrapped around his waist. "I walked my friend back home. No biggie."

He smirked and walked back into the kitchen. "Is it that Lucy character you were babbling on about? She came out of nowhere, huh?"

"Yeah..." Natsu sighed, sitting down on a stool as he watched his brother make whatever he was making. "Zeref, you don't even know man. She has pretty blonde hair, pretty cute… I guess..."

He turned to Natsu with an eyebrow raised. "Seems awfully familiar."

"Huh? Oh... No no... Lucy is not Mavis. I should know, your girlfriend is in the living room watching cartoons." Natsu snorted, being rewarded with Mavis making herself known in the other room with a small, happy, cheer.

"Heh yeah I'm making her cupcakes." He said, smiling gleefully as he stirred some batter in a bowl. 

Natsu sighed and jumped out of the chair to rummage through the fridge. "I need to find a new place..."

"Anyway." Zeref hummed, taking off his rather girly apron and closing the door of the refrigerator before Natsu could grab anything. "I'm guessing you have a crush on this... Lucy."

"What?" Natsu said in a tone that was an octave higher than usual. "No... I just met the girl. Even if I did like her like that, there would be no way she'd feel the same I mean... The way I am..."

Zeref gave him a cautious look, seeming almost sympathetic. "The way you are is perfectly fine Natsu."

Natsu rolled his eyes and forced the fridge back open, grabbing a can of soda from the top shelf. "You only say that because you think I'm dumb enough to believe you. Just like dad, Mavis, Jellal, Erza.... Everyone."

"Natsu... Please."

Natsu winced and held his hand against his head, gritting his teeth as a sudden headache emerged. "I'm just gonna go to my room. Goodnight if I fall asleep before you."

Zeref kept silent as Natsu walked away towards the staircase, walking up the steps and entering his room silently. 

With a groan, Natsu took some pills from his desk and swallowed them down with the soda he had just grabbed moments before. "Damn..." Natsu sighed, sitting down on the desk chair and massaging his temples to help get rid of the pain. 

\---

The next morning, his headache was gone. Honestly, the reason he got it to begin with was a bit blurry. All he could remember was that Zeref was involved.

"Morning." Natsu yawned as he arrived downstairs. "What's for breakfast?"

Natsu caught Zeref flash a frown at him before giving a careful, yet forced smile. "I'm afraid I don't have time to make anything so you'll have to get something yourself if it's not so much trouble."

Natsu sighed and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. "Of course..." he mumbled, taking a large bite out of the fruit. "I'm gonna head to the restaurant."

"Bye..."

Natsu waved to him, as well as patting Mavis's head. "Bye you two."

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to leave a Kudos and a comment!
> 
> And Follow my instagram accounts:  
Art account - @Jellalipopp  
Klance writing account - @Lances.wormhole
> 
> Tumblr:  
Lances-wormhole


	4. Subtle Scarlet Accents

Lucy smiled to herself as she locked the front door of her house. Today, she, Erza, and Juvia were going shopping for their bridesmaid dresses, and sending Erza’s other bridesmaids information on how to get their own. 

"What color dresses were you thinking of?" Juvia asked, combing her fingers delicately through her wavy blue hair. 

Erza stepped down from the porch of Lucy’s house and unlocked her car with a push of a button. "Jellal was requesting red to go with my hair but... I'm not so sure. I feel like the color would be a little bit too much."

Lucy nodded and volunteered to sit in the backseat as Juvia basically knew all the good shops to go to. "Didn't Kagura suggest something as well?"

"Yeah. She is in love with the idea of flapper like dresses." Erza chuckled, starting the car once we were all buckled in. "But honestly... I'm not sure. Although it is a very acceptable idea."

"Just don't choose a horrifyingly puffy dress. That always seems to happen for some reason." Lucy sighed, pressing her knuckles into mhery thighs as she sat forward. 

Juvia giggled and looked back at her coyly. "Juvia remembers going to Loke's wedding. Aries chose the strangest dress for you."

"Yeah." Lucy grumbles before leaning back in her seat. "I don't know what I expected from her."

"Well don't worry, I won't make you wear anything like that..." Erza laughed as she pulled out of the driveway. "But I might add some hint of red to the dresses to amuse the fiancé."

\---

Natsu watched carefully as Jellal sat at the bar, scratching his temple with the end of his pen. He was hunched over a stack of wedding invitations with a pale look on his face. 

"You okay, buddy?" Natsu asked, cleaning a glass with a cloth before setting it down in front of him, pouring a pint of beer in it for him as well. "You've been staring at a certain card for a couple minutes."

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine." Jellal blinked, looking at Natsu for a second before sipping the cool beverage. "It's just... I forgot about the fact that Kagura is going to be a bridesmaid. She scares me."

"I heard stories of her. Erza says she's adorable."

"That's Erza's point of view. She sees Kagura like a little sister and I mean.... She's nice. But she hates me." He hissed, leaning in closer like Erza is going to somehow hear, despite not being anywhere near the restaurant. "Like... She would kill me if she had the chance."

"I don't see how someone can hate someone as nice as you...." Natsu snorted. 

"Oh you don't even know..." Jellal huffed before returning to his list of guests. 

Natsu smiled slightly at his expression before tending to another customer at the bar. "Well hopefully she doesn't ruin your wedding..."

"Huh?! Ruin it?!" Jellal exclaimed suddenly, standing up from his stool and startling the limited amount of people in the restaurant. "She can do that?!"

"W-wait no!" Natsu stuttered, going over to stand across from him. "Hey no that's not true! forget what I said! Even if she did try something, Erza would marry you no matter what. She loves you so much."

"Oh  _ god  _ Natsu." He groaned, slouching back down in his seat. "Quit scaring me. That didn't exactly help."

"Sorry." Natsu frowned, turning his head to see Gray raising an eyebrow at him. The pinkette sighed and walked over to him. "What?"

"Don't just make a soon to be married man nervous you dumbass. You should feel lucky it wasn't Erza you were talking to." He scolded.

With a sigh, Natsu hit him with the rag he had previously thrown over his shoulder and turned away. "Yeah well...  _ I _ thought I was doing pretty good despite my past conversations."

"That is true." He nodded, earning a strange look from Jellal as he recalled the memories of Natsu getting him to nearly wet himself from his horrible advice. "You scared his soul."

"He told me conflicting things, and I will never forgive him." Jellal grumbled.

Natsu smiled slightly before turning back towards Gray. "I heard the ladies were going out to pick the bridesmaids dresses."

He nodded and welcomed in some of the waiters and waitresses that we're starting to come in. "Yeah, it shouldn't take them too long. I know you've been wanting to sit with Lucy again." He cooed. "'Cause you like her."

"I do  _ not  _ like her. I want to be her friend. That's it." Natsu rolled his eyes, feeling the heat already creep up onto his face. "You guys always assume I like every girl I meet."

"Well... You've only ever really talked to a few girls minus Erza, Juvia, and Mavis." Jellal said as he grabbed a pretzel from a bowl. "So that's like... Two or three girls that we think you might like."

"And you haven't talked to those girls in like... 5 years maybe." Gray added.

Natsu pouted at them both before huffing and looking away. "Maybe I don’t  _ do  _ romance.  _ Maybe _ I'm just not a very talkative person."

Gray let out a loud laugh, Jellal snorting alongside him. "You're hilarious you know that? You never stop talking." 

\---

Lucy and the girls ultimately decided on a light grey dress that was tight on the torso and flowed out from their hips to their knees. For Jellal's wishes, there was an accent of scarlet lining the hip which actually gave the dress some character. 

"I'm sure Kagura, Milliana, and Bisca will love it as well. Either way they have no choice." Erza chuckled as they drove back towards the restaurant to meet up with Jellal, and show him the dress. 

"Juvia hopes that Gray-sama would like the dress on Juvia." The blue haired girl hummed, holding her hands close to her chest, probably imagining something R rated. 

Lucy rolled her eyes and looked out the window, watching as they drove past the lake. "Gray likes you in everything you wear, don't worry."

After they pulled into a parking space, Erza grabbed a picture of the dress and got outside the car. "Let's go... Before it opens and we get flooded by everyone."

Lucy and Juvia nodded before unbuckling themselves and closing the doors so Erza could lock them. 

Quickly, they walked inside and over towards the bar where Jellal was starting to put away all the invitations he was working on. 

"Hey." Erza chirped, sitting down beside him and placing the picture on the table. He was given a kiss on the cheek before having the chance to look down at the dress.

"Oh that was quick." He smiled, taking the picture into his hands. "Ah... The scarlet." He hummed, a blush appearing on his cheeks. 

"Cute huh?" Erza grinned, watching as Natsu and Gray snuck over to take a peek. "You two like it?"

Gray nodded, glancing over at Juvia. "Yeah... I think it'll look great on Juvia…” He paused, “...and Lucy, Kagura, and Milliana..."

"Bisca too." Lucy giggled.

"Yes yes... The only married one." He said hiding his red face. 

Natsu smirked and took the picture in his hand, holding it up in front of Lucy. "I can see it."

Lucy pouted and took the picture from his hands. "Stop that... You look like a pervert."

Natsu snickered before giving a genuine smile. "Seriously though, I think it looks great. You, Juvia, and the other bridesmaids will look amazing." He nodded, looking over at Erza. "Not as nice as the bride of course."

Jellal let out a huff as he finished packing up the invitations. "How is it you can make the bride feel good but not the groom?" He was rewarded with only an innocent smile from the pink haired idiot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to leave a Kudos and a comment!
> 
> And Follow my instagram accounts:  
Art account - @Jellalipopp  
Klance writing account - @Lances.wormhole
> 
> Tumblr:  
Lances-wormhole


	5. Mail Order

Natsu slouched in his barstool as he watched Gray and Juvia converse with one another about who knows what. Although it  _ is _ fairly obvious that Juvia is currently swooning over Gray, and that he seems to be annoyed, but that blush on his face begs to differ. 

To Natsu, this whole day seemed to be a time loop. Just stuck there in the restaurant on a Tuesday, with literally _ no one _ to talk to.  _ Nobody _ comes in on a Tuesday. It's Natsu’s absolute least favorite day of the week. 

Sure, Mondays suck. But Mondays are expectant. Everyone knows it's going to happen eventually. On Tuesdays, you get one day into the week, but you're not quite there. And to Natsu that's the most horrible thing ever. 

"Juvia, oh my god, don't you have something better to do? I'm working." Gray scoffed, gesturing to a nearly empty bar. 

Natsu pressed the palm of his hand to his cheek as he looked at them both, managing a smug smile, even with one of his cheeks squished up against my hand. "Exactly. She's a customer, Gray. Get your girlfriend a drink or something."

Juvia brightened up and nodded happily. "A glass of water!"

"Sh-She's not my girlfriend!" He stuttered, but turned to put some ice in a glass. "... _ yet _ ...."

"What was that?" Natsu smirked, glancing at Juvia who unfortunately didn't hear him like he had. 

Gray only glared at Natsu, stiffly sliding the ice cold glass of water towards Juvia. 

Natsu raised both of his hands up in defeat, and spun his stool around so that his back faced the bar. 

There was a moment of silence in the whole restaurant. The only noises came from the ice clinking against Juvia's glass, Gray's footsteps as he paced behind the bar, and the very reserved conversations from the minimal amount of people in the place. 

Natsu paid little attention to the silence though, just keeping his eye on the door as he leaned his elbows back on top of the bar. All of their wait staff seemed bored out of their minds... So bored that Natsu was tempted to tell them they could leave early. But Gray always told him that you'll never know if you'll end up needing them really badly.

"Juvia thinks it's going to rain today." The blue haired girl suddenly chimes, looking between Natsu and the door. "Did you bring an umbrella?" 

Natsu raised an eyebrow and tilted his head back to look at her. "I doubt it's gonna rain. I know you're like... always right about the weather, right? But have you seen the sun? It's barely even humid."

She shrugged and took a sip of her water, the ice smaller than how were a couple minutes ago. "Just warning you."

"Yeah... Thanks." He sighed, looking back towards the door. "So... Lucy... She's a writer?"

Juvia nodded with a small smile. "Mhm..."

"Cool." Natsu returned the nod. "What does she write about?"

"Juvia isn't quite sure. She never lets anyone read her stories except for Levy Mcgarden." She hummed, turning around to face the door as well. "But Levy doesn't live here so we basically don't have anyone to ask. Except for Lucy of course. But–"

"–But that's not very likely." Natsu finished, giving a small smile. "She's an interesting one."

Another moment of silence.

"Do you have a crush on Lucy?"

" _ What? _ " Natsu sputtered, standing up from his stool. "What? No.... What?"

Juvia gave him a look before turning back to the bar, letting Gray refill her glass of water. "Could've fooled Juvia."

"What, his noticeable crush on Lucy?" Gray raised an eyebrow teasingly. 

"Yeah. He said ‘ _ what’  _ three times in a row followed by a single  _ no. _ " Juvia whispered back to him, “Sounds sketchy, huh?” Gray gave her a gentle, and amused smile. 

Natsu gritted his teeth and stomped his foot down childishly. "You guys are aggravating! I mean... Look at you two! You guys literally flirt all the time."

"We do not!" Gray argued. Juvia merely shrugged.

Natsu grunted and glanced back at the wait staff who gave him understanding smiles. 

"But you do like Lucy." One of them said. 

"I don't!" He yelped.

\---

"Natsu~" Someone sang, poking the pinkette’s shoulder almost cautiously. "Come on... Get up. You're drooling on the bar. And it's not very attractive."

"I don't care about attractive." He complained, sitting up and wiping the drool with his forearm. "What do you want, Zeref? Why are you at my work anyway?"

Zeref sat down beside him, fixing his coat collar. "Many reasons. First reason... You got this package that Mavis got really curious with and tried to open herself. Giving it to you right away was the only way I could get it out of her tiny fingers."

Natsu raised an eyebrow and watched as Zeref pulled out a small yellow envelope that was padded with bubble wrap on the inside. "Alright then. Her curiosity is a force to be reckoned with."

Zeref smiled and cocked his head to the side. "It's cute... She's like a little kitten."

"Hm." Natsu grunted, tearing the envelope open with his thumb and reaching inside only to pull out a ring.

"That's it? Jeez... That envelope seems to be way too big for something so small." Zeref mumbled, taking the packaging back and peering inside it. 

Natsu stared down at the ring, turning it between his fingers carefully. It was very plain and had many scratches amongst its surface. But the inside of it was clean and polished from being worn on a finger all the time. 

"Hm... That’s all there is, huh?" Zeref mumbled. "I wonder who sent it."

"Ig....neel." Natsu forced out, his eyes landing on the etching that lined the inside of the ring. 

_ Speak of your future and it shall become your will to live. _

"It's... Igneel's." Natsu breathed, his hand starting to shake. "He would never take this off. He said if he ever took it off he would be—"

Natsu froze up completely, the ring falling to the ground. The noise it made as it hit the ground was loud as it caused a ringing in Natsu ears that wouldn't go away. 

"Natsu?" Zeref said... Or was it Gray? He couldn't tell. Their voices were so hard to hear. 

"I.... Gotta go." Natsu muttered, pushing himself away from the bar and towards the door, ignoring their words. He couldn't make out their words anyway. 

Stumbling to a pay phone, Natsu pushed in the right amount of change and punched in a number. He knew the number by heart. He always picked up. Always. 

"Dragon Slayer Foster care. How may I help you?" A voice spoke from the other side. 

"Is Igneel there?" Natsu asked immediately, his free hand tugging on his scarf. "I need to talk to him. Please put him on. He's there right?  _ Please _ ."

There was an extended silence on the other end. He could hear the woman's breathing hitch from his end. And she muttered one single sentence that concluded his worst thought.

" _ I'm sorry. _ "

\---

Natsu tugged off his scarf and stared at its pattern carefully, sitting down on the hill he had sat down with Lucy on a couple days earlier. "Don't be gone... Please." He whimpered, his vision blurry from what must’ve been tears. "Urgh..." He growled, holding his hand to his head quickly as a jab of pain came. "See what fucking happens?"

Natsu sighed and looked up at the horizon. "Rain... Of course." He grumbled, watching as the waves on the lake began to ripple as the little droplets of water began to head straight towards the little town. 

Something in him prevented him from getting up. He just let the rain fall on top of himself; Soaking his clothes, flattening his usually spiky hair down to his scalp, and turning the dirt he was sitting on into mud. 

"I guess I can't blame the clouds for crying... They just lost someone amazing." He mumbled, gripping onto his scarf. "Damn it..."

Natsu stayed put; his mind completely blank as the rain poured down even harder. It was like sitting underneath a waterfall as this point... Until suddenly, it stopped. 

Rather, it stopped where he was sitting. Everywhere else it was still raining. "Huh?" Natsu blinked, hesitantly looking up at what, or  _ who _ the cause was. His heart immediately skipped a beat at the sight. 

"Lucy...." Natsu breathed, looking up at the girl. She wore a matching pair of rain boots and a raincoat, as well as a cute yellow dress. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and it didn't seem to be entirely brushed through... But she was beautiful.

She held up a small umbrella over the two of them, a worried look on her face. "Your ring." She said, looking down at Natsu finally and holding it out to him. "Don't leave something so precious behind. Your foster father... I bet he wanted you to wear it."

"How did you–?"

"Zeref. Your brother. I came into the restaurant to say hi to you and Gray. But you weren't there. He introduced himself to me, and explained where you might have been." Lucy said stiffly. " _ Honestly _ ... Staying here in the rain... Do you want to be sick?"

Natsu gulped and shakily stood up, sliding the ring into his pocket. "I couldn't bring myself to move... But..."

"But what?" She furrowed her eyebrows, seeming a little impatient with his recklessness. 

"Thank you..." He whimpered, stepping closer and carefully bringing her into a hug. "For some reason... Just seeing you made me want to get up again."

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a Kudos and a comment!  
follow my art account on instagram: @Jellalipopp  
my klance writing account: @Lances.wormhole  
Tumblr: Lances-wormhole


	6. Gold Medalists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote this chapter a long time ago, I was finally getting in touch with my writing style, so I'm still proud and fond of it even though my writing has improved since then.
> 
> Next chapters will all be brand new! Please continue to read this story. Updates might take longer but my college semester is almost over, so soon I'll finally have more time :)

Lucy watched Natsu from the opposite side of the bar, tapping her finger against her laptop's keyboard absentmindedly. He just sat there, staring at his father's ring, as Zeref, his brother, stood at his side. 

Zeref seemed to be a caring older brother, as he was busy making sure Natsu was warm and dried off; even going behind the counter to make him something warm to drink.

"Natsu looked up to Igneel for the longest time." Gray spoke, sitting down next to Lucy and keeping his voice low enough so that the pinkette wouldn't hear him. "I don't know too much of their relationship. He never talks about it to anyone but Zeref."

"Zeref seems like a good sibling...." Lucy hummed, looking at the duo for a moment before looking back at her blank screen. She was still at a loss for what she could possibly write about.

"He wasn't always." Gray shrugged, scratching at a random mark on the bar. "He was MIA for the longest time in Natsu's life, from what I’ve heard. But after Natsu's accident he just kind of—I don't know—showed up, I guess."

"Accident?" Lucy raised her eyebrows, "What accident? I never heard of any accident."

"Oh right. Well..." Gray gave a sheepish smile at his mistake before clearing his throat, "About five years ago, Natsu was on a bus to the city. I was never told of his intentions but I do know that Mavis, Zeref's now girlfriend, was also on the bus at the time... that's how the couple met, I believe. But anyway, the bus had some sort of engine failure right when they were in the middle of a tunnel and the vehicle just couldn't get out in time before the front exploded, making the bus kinda, topple to the side of the tunnel. Natsu managed to shield Mavis in time but ended up getting hurt pretty badly."

Lucy frowned, picturing the image grotesquely in her mind. "How so?"

"His spine was damaged I think, but fortunately it wasn't too bad and after some healing and training he was able to move again." Gray bit his lip, glancing over at his business partner. "But thanks to him, he saved Mavis from a nearly fatal accident. When Zeref came to visit him in the hospital, he met Mavis who was watching over Natsu and that's how they got together."

Lucy managed a smile.

"On the downside, Natsu kind of has some trauma after the event, and it periodically resurfaces from time to time. He moved here for a more relaxing atmosphere. I guess Zeref and Mavis kind of followed along. And that's how I met him." Gray finished, pushing himself out of his seat. "As much as Natsu annoys me, he's become a very close friend.” The raven haired man gave a fond, yet melancholy, smile towards Lucy. “You and I, we've lost our father's before. Maybe we should do something for him."

Lucy thinks for a moment before nodding and closing her laptop. "You're right. I'll brainstorm some ideas, and you can tell me what you think."

Gray grinned and reached out his hand, watching as Lucy did the same, gripping onto his with a smirk of her own. "Let's get everyone involved. I'm sure everyone could use a little break as well."

———

Natsu watched Lucy with amusement as she scrambled around the fishing dock, taking the responsibility of lugging everything onto the boat they were borrowing. "I can help, you know?" he chuckled, reaching to take hold of a cooler, but she quickly slapped his hand away.

"No. I got it. Let me have it." She ordered, cutting in front of him and lifting the big cooler to her chest before doing some kind of crab walk towards the boat.

"It's best just to let her do what she needs to do." Erza said as she passed by Natsu. "She's been like this for the longest time."

"You're lucky you got away with a slap," Gray added, rolling a piece of rope around his elbow and hand so it was at a decent length. "She's  _ vicious _ to me. When we were kids, she bit me for trying to put away her dirty dishes."

"Wow..." Natsu raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And I thought I was a scary kid."

"Erza still is the scariest kid though..." Jellal whispered so that his fiancé wouldn't hear. "Emphasis on  _ still is _ ."

Erza glared over in their direction, even though she didn't know what they were talking about. "Boat. Now."

"Roger that, beautiful." Jellal said quickly, giving Natsu a wide, forced smile, before hopping into the boat, getting comfortable in the passenger seat. 

"You guys never told me exactly what we're doing." Natsu said finally, stuffing his hands in his pockets, only to take them both out the moment his right hand felt his father's ring. "Ah... obviously there's a boat involved but—"

Gray smiled slightly, getting situated at the steering wheel. "Hope you brought your motion sickness pills."

Natsu gulped and gave a hesitant nod. "Yeah I did... with Juvia force feeding it to me." He grumbled, "thanks Juvia."

The blue haired girl gave a cheeky grin before sitting behind Gray, playing with his hair happily. Surprisingly he let her do it without much opposition. "No prob bob."

Reluctantly, Natsu stepped into the boat, wobbling a bit before sitting down at the nose of the boat with Lucy. "I'll stay on this boat as long as Erza never drives."

"Well now she's just going to keep insisting on driving since you said that, Natsu." Gray teased, though Lucy caught Erza wearing an expression that basically said that she might as well do what Gray said.

"I think you're forgetting something, Natsu." Lucy spoke up, catching the boy's attention. "The one you should really be fearing is Juvia since she knows how to work the waves and all that."

Juvia winked from her spot behind Gray and gave Natsu a finger gun which honestly made him a little nervous.

———

Lucy watched as Natsu gripped onto his seat once Juvia and Erza kept trading the wheel, speeding them around the lake like mad men.

Despite feeling fine from taking the motion sickness medicine, Natsu still absentmindedly recreated the feeling of wanting to throw up and moved himself to Lucy's side of the boat where he hid his face into her side so that he didn't have to look at the water or the lake houses blurring past them as they sped along.

Lucy forced a smile as she looked down at Natsu, and at Gray who had a similar expression. As if they were mentally linked, they both nodded to each other, knowing right away that Natsu shouldn't be this scared for an outing that was meant for him.

"Ah... Jellal?" Gray called, looking at the blue haired male who was somehow managing to read a book while on the extremely fast boat. "Mind taking the wheel?" He asked.

Jellal raised his eyebrow quizzically before shrugging and placing his book in a safety compartment, while climbing his way to Juvia and Erza. "Excuse me." He said politely as he peeled Juvia off of the wheel and onto Gray, before kissing Erza's cheek to distract her enough for him to take the driver's seat.

"Dang he's smoother than I thought." Lucy mumbled, relaxing a little as the boat significantly slowed down. 

Jellal gave her a small smile as he took them on a much smoother joy ride. "Bold of you to assume I'm not always this way."

"The other day you were fumbling about with wedding stuff and acting like a ten year old." Natsu suddenly said, sitting up straighter as he moved away from Lucy's side. The blonde pretended not to be upset at the lack of warmth.

Jellal shot him a look before pointedly looking away with a pout. Though the attitude disappeared when Erza sat down on his lap, rubbing her thumb against her engagement ring. Just being near each other could change their moods entirely. 

Lucy watched them for a moment before looking over at Natsu, who had moved over to the other side again as to even out the weight, from the corner of her eye. His eyes were closed blissfully as he welcomed the light breeze that ruffled his pink hair and clothes.

She was happy to see him look so relaxed and at ease after all the bad stuff that had happened before hand concerning his father.

Lucy stayed silent for awhile, enjoying the speed that Jellal was taking them at. Not once did they hit any bumps in the water to ruin the good mood.

———

"I'm jumping in!!" Juvia suddenly yelled, pulling both her and Gray off of the anchored boat.

Gray sputtered as he resurfaced, trying to act annoyed, though the smirk on his face contradicted it. "Watch it." He challenged, whipping off his now wet shirt into the boat and started to splash her childishly.

Lucy laughed, hugging her knees to her chest as she watched Erza and Jellal join in with them, leaving Natsu and Lucy to be the only ones dry. 

"I'm going in as well." Natsu announces, pulling his shirt off over his head. "And you?"

Lucy shook her head, visibly trying her hardest not to look down at his chest or abs or… what not. "No... not yet at least." 

"Then watch your back. Maybe I'll come up behind you and drag you in." Natsu teased with a devious grin, before turning and standing on the edge of the boat. "Move out of the way losers!" He announced.

Lucy watched his back carefully, noticing a rather big scar along his spine. She recalled the story that Gray had told her about; the accident Natsu had been in... and his spinal damage. 

She was so close to going up and touching it, though stopped when she noticed Natsu lost his footing and toppled into the cold water. 

Quickly, Lucy hurried to where Natsu had fallen and looked into the water in time to see him resurfacing.

Ignoring their friend's laughter, Lucy watched as Natsu combed the wet hair out of his eyes and look up at the blonde who was currently smiling down at him. He smiled back just as fondly as she was.

"The splash was a bit big but the dive was perfect..." Lucy hummed, kissing her fingers like she had just witnessed a masterpiece. "You're on your way to a gold medal."

Natsu laughed and hoisted himself up on the boat a little, enough to get up close to her face. "Maybe we can do better as duo divers." He said huskily, watching her curious expression for a second or two before smirking and pulling her into the water with him.

The others all smiled knowingly at the two before going back to their respective activities, as Lucy and Natsu resurfaced in each others arms, shouting happily to one another about being gold medalists. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a Kudos and a comment!  
follow my art account on instagram: @Jellalipopp  
my klance writing account: @Lances.wormhole  
Tumblr: Lances-wormhole


	7. Don't ruin it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of my newer updates.  
But.. lmao... this kinda sucks. I've been focusing more on the stories I'm writing for college.  
oh well.
> 
> I typically write pretty short chapters but I'll try my best to make them a little longer :)

Gray leaned away from natsu as he scarfed down his sandwich, just nearly avoiding a stray glob of mayonnaise that shot out of his sub like a bullet. With every minute spent with the pinkette, Lucy became more and more aware of how much of a glutten the boy was. Typically, that would bother her… But it was oddly cute how passionate he was about food, and how successful he was in making that into his career.

Only she could hope that she could do the same with her writing.

“Honestly, Natsu…” Gray groaned, pushing the sandwich away from Natsu’s mouth, nearly dropping it out of his hands, and into the water below the dock they were all sitting on. “Who on earth gave you these horrible manners.”

“Like you’re one to talk about manners,” Natsu scoffed with a mouth full of food, “you’re such a stripper. That explains enough.”

Gray rolled his eyes before leaning over to whisper in Lucy’s ear, “says the guy who tried to start a food fight on his first day of work.”

Lucy snorted and leaned forward to look at Natsu, who was gaping at Gray like he had just wounded him severely.

“Oh yeah? Well how’s this for a food fight, huh?” Natsu argued helplessly before grabbing Gray’s sandwich from off the dock and throwing it in the water.

“You idiot!” Gray shrieked before tackling his self-proclaimed enemy into the water.

Lucy watched with an awkward smile, shielding her face as their impact caused water to splash up at her.

“Morons…” Lucy heard Erza mutter from the boat, earning a pleased sigh from Juvia.

However, Lucy just kept her gaze on them both, fondness evident on her face. “It’s what makes them so endearing, huh?” She spoke, as her gaze shifted only onto Natsu.

***

“Are you having fun?”

Natsu stopped drying his hair off with his towel to look over and see Lucy beaming down at him. After their little lunch break, the gang decided to slip back into the boat, and get ready for another few laps around the lake.

“Natsu?”

Natsu blinked, cursing himself internally as he caught himself staring at her. “Ah… yeah! Yeah it’s been really fun.”

Lucy somehow smiled a grin even brighter, before sitting down beside him on the boat.

In fact she sat really close. Thigh against thigh, shoulder against shoulder kind of close. Natsu gulped and kept his gaze set on Jellal who was starting up the engine. There was no reason for him to freak out over just a bit of contact between friends, right? Lucy was his  _ friend _ . She was already a very close  _ friend _ and little things like sitting close to each other was something normal that  _ friends _ do.

“ _ Christ… _ ” Natsu grumbled to himself, raising his towel to hide half of his face.

“You alright? Not motion sick right?” Lucy asked, concerned, “Do you need to take more medicine?”

Natsu quickly shook his head and twisting the towel in his hands. “No I’m fine. I’m just… thinking.”

Gray snorted from the other end of the boat, earning a glare from Lucy.

“Thinking about what?” Lucy asked softly, leaning in a bit closer to Natsu so she could look at his face easier.

Subconsciously, Natsu looked over towards his bag, knowing very well that his father’s ring was sitting somewhere inside of it.

Lucy must’ve caught this--unfortunately--and placed her hand on top of Natsu’s shoulder. “You know I’m here to talk about it, right? I didn’t have the best relationship with my father, but I did lose him very recently,” she spoke in a hushed tone, “Gray knows how it feels to lose a father too. I know you two tease each other a lot but it would be nice to talk about. You and I can--”

“--I don’t want to talk about it.” Natsu interrupted, maybe a little too harshly. After seeing the startled look on Lucy’s face, he quickly masked his frown with a semi-reassuring smile. “I’m fine… really. I like to deal with these things on my own.”

Lucy frowned, obviously wanting to argue with him, but stopping herself once she knew that she should probably move at a pace that he was comfortable with.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Gray was watching them carefully, with a sad look on his face.

Only then did she realize how quiet the rest of the boat was.

***

“I think I made it worse,” Lucy mumbled as she stood beside Gray and Juvia, “One moment he’s super happy and jumping around in the water, and now here he is staring at his reflection in the water.”

Gray raised an eyebrow as he looked over at his business partner. Natsu was, in fact, leaning over the edge of the boat, holding onto the side as he watched the water splash by them. “Natsu maybe be an idiot, but he’s oddly really good at covering up his negative emotions. It’s about all his brain cells are capable of doing.”

Lucy hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the scar on Natsu’s back before looking over at Gray. “When do you think he’ll be ready to talk about his dad?”

“Possibly never.”

Lucy sputtered, and placed her hands on her hips, “What do you mean, never? He has to talk about it at some point!”

Gray hushed her as Natsu leaned forward a bit more over the boat.

“Um… Juvia doesn’t think Natsu is looking at his reflection.” The blue haired girl muttered, watching carefully as he lifted his hand up to his mouth. “Oh dear.”

The three of them managed to look away right when Natsu began to puke up his lunch.

“Oh great job, Natsu...” Erza scoffed, walking away from Jellal to pull the boy away from the side of the boat, not wanting him to fall into the water. “This boat is a rental.”

Natsu replied with a pitiful gurgle.

***

“I’m sorry that the trip had to be cut short.” Natsu apologized after downing a whole bottle of water to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth. “I know you guys organized this for me. I guess I needed to take more of that medicine.”

Jellal shrugged, passing him another water bottle, that Natsu immediately grabbed and began to chug down. “It’s not your fault really. Ignore Erza, she just likes to be an older sister to you.”

“More like an angry grandmother.” Natsu mumbled, between sips, though a smile crept onto his face anyway.

Jellal looked as if he were about to argue, but hummed a little bit in agreement. “Yeah… But like, she’s my fiancée so shut up.”


	8. Heirlooms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natsu gets a dream, a sidekick, and an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait <3  
This is what I get for working on three pieces simultaneously.  
Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Jellalipop (Sophie)

_"You know I can tell you're still awake, Natsu."_

_The boy giggled and hid himself deeper into his blankets. "I don't know what you mean, dad." He said playfully, before making fake snoring noises._

_Igneel sighed, sitting down on the side of the bed before tugging away the blanket to reveal Natsu. He smiled down at the young boy's rosy cheeks and gave them a brief pinch. Natsu responded by swatting his father's hands away with a little snicker. "Now's not the time to be energetic. We have to get up early tomorrow. Look at houses and all that."_

_Natsu's grin turned into a pout, sitting upwards with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not going. I like this house."_

_Igneel frowned, pulling the blanket back up onto the boy's legs and coaxing him to lay down. Natsu did so reluctantly._

_"I don't see why we need to move anyway." He grumbled, childishly grabbing onto his stuffed dragon. "If we move, we wouldn't be able to see Mom or Zeref."_

_Igneel combed his fingers through Natsu's pink hair carefully, considering his words. "I know it sounds odd, but it's what she wants. Besides, it's not like you won't ever see them again. Moving is just going to make things easier." Igneel smiled, leaning down to place a kiss on his son's forehead. "Change is difficult, but I just _know _the mighty Natsu can triumph it."_

_Natsu beamed at the title, throwing a fist up into the air. "Aw yeah! The mighty Natsu can defeat anything!"_

\--------------------------

When Natsu awoke from the dream, his throat was clenched up as though he was about to cry. Turning his head over, he spotted his father's ring.

"You try'na tell me something, huh?" He spoke as if he were speaking to Igneel like he were in the room with him. "Cheap move making me dream _that_ memory. Honestly way too convenient."

He stayed silent for a good minute, shifting his attention to the ceiling.

"Change, huh? I'm familiar," he whispered, "I shouldn't be acting like this. I'm well past being a crybaby."

Natsu smiled, looking back at the ring. "Fine, pops. I'll wear your ring. Unless that's not what you were trying to tell me. Was it the whole mumbo jumbo about moving out? Away from Zeref. Believe me I'm considering it with how close he and Mavis are getting."

Natsu stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"Unfortunately I can't really do that considering I ain't got the money. Living with Gray doesn't sound doable either, I see him way too much."

Natsu's mind drifted off to Lucy. She had that fairly big house, and it was just her living there.

"No that's stupid. I just met her after all." Natsu huffed, pushing himself up on the bed, "Well forget that for now. Maybe there's something else I could do. Get something that'll feel more like it's my own, y'know?"

Taking the ring in his hand, Natsu smiled and slipped it onto his finger before clenching his fist. "The mighty Natsu needs a sidekick."

\--------------------------

"You did _What_?!" Gray shrieked.

"I bought a kitten!" Natsu grinned, placing his pet carrier down on the bar. "He's a Russian blue cat. Isn't that cool? They have _blue _cats."

Gray's eyebrow twitched as he watched Natsu pull the kitten out of its crate, cuddling it up against his cheek. "And you're just gonna let it walk around in here?"

"Well yeah." Natsu pouted, adjusting his scarf so that the cat could be cradled inside it. "Look at him. He's just chilling, isn't he?"

Gray dragged his hand down his face before leaning backwards on his stool with a grown. "Natsu, we work in a restaurant. With our main dishes being _seafood. _You've got to see how apprehensive that is."

Natsu scoffed at his business partner before cooing down at the kitten. "Don't worry 'bout that. Happy wouldn't be anywhere near the kitchen. I'm gonna train him to be a bar cat."

"Happy? That's what you named him? That's so unoriginal."

"Hey man, I think it's cute. Sorry I'm not up to your cat naming standards."

Gray glared at him for a second, taking in Natsu's happy expression. Then he spotted Igneel's ring on his finger.

Reluctantly, after seeing just how upbeat the pinkette was, Gray hopped off his bar stool. "Look... As much as I'm willing to give in, Animals aren't permitted to be in restaurants. Unless we were a cat cafe--Which we're not--The inspectors will be all up in our business if they see one single cat hair."

Natsu frowned, watching as Gray walked around the Bar to start cleaning off the counter. "Guess I can't really argue with that," he grumbled, placing Happy back down on the bar. "You can't stop me from sneaking him in though. Just so he could pop in every now and then."

"You're treating the cat like a human child Natsu." Gray clicked his tongue, but gave a curt nod to communicate that he was allowing Natsu's conditions.

Natsu grinned happily, lifting Happy up into the air like a proud dad. "You see that buddy? We warmed you up to the ice boy. Now we just gotta work on sneaking you into Erza's wedding."

The kitten mewed down at Natsu, as if he were agreeing with the boy's crazy antics.

\--------------------------

Natsu spun the ring around his finger as he watched Lucy play with Happy. After finding a stray ribbon in her purse, she insisted on distracting the kitten while Natsu started dealing with all his restaurant duties. However, there wasn't much to do at this point as all he needed to do was make sure all the waitstaff arrived on time.

So, pretending to look busy, Natsu started moving pint glasses, hoping the clinking noise made it sound like he was in the middle of something. Lucy seemed to pay him little mind, all her attention being on Natsu's new little sidekick. This gave him the opportunity to just admire her. 

Just Lucy Heartfilia and his cat. It felt oddly natural... As if he is going to see this scene before him for many years to come. Just the thought of getting to know Lucy even longer brought a smile to his lips. 

"You're wearing the ring." Lucy spoke suddenly, causing Natsu to nearly drop one of his twice cleaned glasses. "Your father's ring I mean."

"Ah... yeah." Natsu raised his hand up to look at the ring. "There wasn't really a reason to keep ignoring it I guess. The old man gave it to me to wear, I should respect that."

Lucy smiled fondly at him before looking back down at Happy to scratch behind his ears.

"Although it kinda makes me look like I'm married, huh?" Natsu mumbled, inspecting his ring finger for a second. After a second, he pulled the ring off and slid it onto his middle finger.

Lucy watched him with amusement. "I think it looks more natural on the ring finger."

"Hm," Natsu hummed in agreement, biting his lip before giving in and changing the ring back to his ring finger like she had suggested.

"Was it your father's wedding ring by any chance?" Lucy enquired, giggling as Happy promptly flopped on top of her hand.

Natsu shook his head, leaning over the bar to scratch at Happy's stomach. He smiled as the kitten playfully hooked onto his hand, giving him little bites. "No. My parents divorced when I was little. This was a ring that a friend had given him when he was younger. I never _met _this friend, but apparently he considered them family or something. My dad wanted it to become a family heirloom I guess."

Lucy nodded, gently moving her hand out from underneath Happy. "That's sweet. When my mother died, she had given me a lot of the antiques she collected throughout her life. They're collecting dust in the house but I can't bring myself to ever get rid of them."

Natsu watched her carefully.

"And when I say a lot, I mean _a lot._ Honestly I could hold a viewing gallery in my home if I wanted to." Lucy laughed. "Come one come all to the Heartfilia Museum."

Natsu snorted, removing his hand from Happy's grip in favor of taking Lucy's hand instead. "Can I be the first to see it?"

Lucy blushed a light pink, looking down at their hands before looking up at him. "I'd be honored."

Natsu hummed, seeming to lean forward even more as they just simply gazed at each other. That is until Happy decided to pounce at their joined hands, causing them to break apart with a joined pop of laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
Please leave a kudos and a comment :)
> 
> Follow my art account on instagram:  
@Jellalipopp
> 
> Or my Klance writing account on instagram:  
@Lances.wormhole
> 
> IMPORTANT:  
The first 6 chapters were written awhile ago, so once the 7th chapter is posted, you'll see a big change in my writing style.


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